India’s readymade garment exports see negative growth

Tirupur: Readymade garments exports in the country have taken a hit, with June witnessing a 9.18% fall in exports, and August recording 2.44% negative growth. This was the lowest growth for both months in the past six years.
Tirupur Exporters’ Association president R M Shanmugham said readymade garments worth $1.260 billion were exported in August from across the country; it was $1.292 billion in August. In June, it recorded $1.357 billion. The Tirupur apparel cluster accounts for about for 55% of the trade.
“Only now the industry is witnessing the full adverse effect of demonetisation and GST. Around 50% of work has come down in the apparel units in recent months, as many were having layoffs,” said S P Muthurathinam, president, Tirupur Exporters and Manufacturers Association.
Shanmugham said, “We need worry about the figures only if September shows negative growth.”
“The central government says it is taking steps like the restoration of Merchandise Exports for India Scheme and other incentives to put the industry on the growth track. But, the government should mainly focus on establishing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with countries like the US and the European Union, without which Indian units cannot compete with companies in underdeveloped countries including Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia. Those countries were having FTA and other special agreements,” said N Jeyasekaran, a knitwear exporter.
“The government says that it is trying to bring FTA, but main hurdle is that the countries like the US wants India to allow duty-free import of automobile and winery products,” said Shanmugham.
“It is unfair that the central government is ‘putting down’ welfare of the textile units by weighing more on automobile imports,” Jeyasekaran said.
The industrialists said the government should also focus on creating infrastructure like housing for labourers and upskilling existing labourers.